The stand goes up at the end of the driveway around ten in the morning. There is a sign, usually with the price crossed out once. There is a pitcher that somebody's grown-up paid for, a cash box holding four quarters and a rubber band, and a proprietor who will spend the next twenty minutes learning that a street with no foot traffic on it is not, commercially speaking, a good street. Every part of running a business is in that hour: what it costs to make the thing, what somebody will actually pay for it, why the neighbor bought two and the mail carrier bought none, and whether it is worth doing again tomorrow. Children figure this out fast, and they figure it out with real money, which is why the lesson sticks in a way a worksheet never does.
Bookroo's collection of 134 entrepreneurship books covers all of it, and our editors picked fourteen that go past the sign and the pitcher: a four-day lemonade war between a math-smart sister and a people-smart brother, a stand that opens in the snow and loses money, a sixth grader who works out the cost per tube of toothpaste, a third grader cutting hair in his bedroom, a boy in Ghana who starts with one hen and a small loan, a barber who saves for thirty years, and a comic-book empire run out of a middle school hallway. Start with the shortlist, then browse the picture books for read-alouds about stands, shops, and the people who built real companies, or the independent-reader shelf for longer stories where the business has employees, costs, and a way to fail.
Evan is good with people. His younger sister Jessie is good with numbers. They have four days of summer left and one hundred dollars to win.
Pauline has four dollars and a plan. It is January, there is snow on the ground, and she is opening a lemonade stand anyway.
Rufus Mayflower thinks a tube of toothpaste costs too much. He works out how to make a gallon of it for the price of one tube, and then people start ordering.
Greg Kenton has been making money since kindergarten. His latest venture is a line of comics sold for a quarter each, and it is going extremely well until the school notices.
Grandma's haircut is a disaster and picture day is coming. So J.D. fixes it himself — and by the end of the week his bedroom is a barbershop with a waiting list.
Kojo's family has almost nothing. A small loan from the village lets him buy one hen, and the eggs she lays are the beginning of everything else.
One doughnut shop has the whole town's business until a rival opens across the street. The escalation that follows involves flavors nobody asked for.
A twelve-year-old is handed his grandfather's old riding mower for his birthday. By August he has employees, a stock portfolio, and a prizefighter on the books.
Arthur needs five dollars for a T-shirt and cap. His sister Violet has the calculator and some questions about his expenses.
Edwin Binney's company made shoe polish and black dye. Then he noticed that children had nothing good to draw with, and spent years making a crayon that was safe, cheap, and brilliantly colored.
Uncle Jed is the only Black barber in the county, and he travels to his customers with his clippers in a bag. He has been saving for a shop of his own for most of Sarah Jean's life.
Tristan's family moves to a town whose only famous thing is a chocolate cream doughnut nobody has made in years. He decides to make it, which turns out to involve a recipe, a supplier, a location, and a permit.
You asked for the gadget. Grandma gave you a lemon tree. Here, step by step, is what to do about it.
Sarah Breedlove was orphaned at seven and washing laundry by twenty. Her own hair loss sent her looking for a remedy, and the remedy became a national company.
Lemonade stands, taco trucks, barbershops, and true stories of the people who started real companies — read-alouds for ages 3–9.
A young chef's alien snacks bring unexpected fame across the galaxy.
A child's idea grows, leading to something extraordinary.
A young barber cuts hair for monsters under the full moon.
A comforting tale of love that transcends distance and time.
A lamb's imagination leads to unexpected chaos and discovery.
Discover how dreams became reality through Walt Disney's imagination and innovation.
A girl finds unexpected customers for her lemonade by the river.
A broken well, a town in chaos, and a newsboy on a mission for truth.
Eva's lemonade stand faces fierce competition. Can she find a fresh idea to succeed?
A lazy bear and a clever hare become unlikely business partners in a series of agricultural ventures.
A peddler must outsmart mischievous monkeys to reclaim his caps.
A Filipino immigrant's toy becomes an American sensation. Discover the yo-yo's rise.
Kid-run businesses with customers, costs, rivals, and payroll, plus biographies of founders who started with almost nothing. Ages 6–12.
Four girls must unite to win a lemonade stand competition, facing friendship and business challenges.
A school app game spirals into chaos. Can Allie fix it before it's too late?
A young artist battles anxiety while using her creativity to help her family, but success brings unexpected challenges.
A slime-selling showdown tests a boy's creativity against family expectations.
Can Tris save his doughnut shop and town by winning a fierce cooking show?
Can cupcakes be healthy? Alexis juggles science fair dreams and a rocky love life.
Mia faces a style crisis with new glasses and braces. Can she find her true self?
Emma juggles jobs to afford her dream dress for a wedding. Can she manage it all?
Can Alexis find a formula for love amidst her organized chaos?
A stolen lemonade recipe leads to a mystery. Can the Clue Crew crack the case?
Middle schooler Rafe's dog-walking empire faces chaos when twins sabotage his business.
A visionary defies skeptics to revolutionize retail and build the world's largest store.
